Tings



(No Model.)

E. W. HASTINGS. SPLIT LAST ATTACHMENT. No. 537,450. Pat'ntedApr. 16, 1895.

0 0 000 0 anmaavvv .Aww 0000000000 0 000000000000000000 00 ma :mams PETERS cc. FHoToLwHo., wAsmNoToN. o c4 UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

EDI/VIN VARREN HASTINGS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ANNA O. BARTLETT, OF SAME PLACE.

SPLIT-LAST ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,450, dated April 16, 1895.

Application filed August 21, 1894;. Serial No. 520,951. (No model.)

To OLZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, EDWIN WARREN HAS- TINGS, residing in Boston, in the county ofV Suffolk andState of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Split-Last Attachments, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and figures on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to a novel device or attachment for split lasts, to prevent the latter slipping when being operated to stretch a boot or shoe.

Split lasts as now commonly constructed and known to me are provided with an actu* ating screw threaded rod extended from the rear of the last, and by rotating which the two halves or parts of the split last may be moved away from and toward each other. The split last, when inserted into the boot or shoe and expanded by the rotation of its actuating rod, sli ps toward the heel of the shoe.

My present invention has for its object to provide a simple, cheap and efficient device or check, capable of being applied to and removed from the actuating rod of the split last, and which effectually serves to prevent rearward movement or slip of the last, and which by reason of its removability from the actuating rod can be applied to any split last, and a single device can be employed with any desired number or size of lasts.

The device or check consists essentially of two members, one of which is preferably made asa substantially oblong metal rack bar, provided on its under surface with a substantially semi-circular channel or groove extended in the direction of the length of the rack bar, and which is adapted to fit over the actuating rod, the said rack bar having cooperating with it an adjustable piece or second member, which in practice is preferably constructed so as to lit over the actuating rod to obtain a bearing against the heel counter of the boot or shoe, as will be described. These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification. y

Figure l represents in section and elevation a shoe provided with a split last having connected therewith a check or attachment embodying thisinvention; Fig. 2, asectional view on an enlarged scale showing the adjustable member in elevation and the rack bar and the actuating rod in section; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal section on the line 3*.3, Fig.` 2, the actuating rod being omitted; Fig. 4, a sectional detail of the adjustable member, the section being taken on the line 4 4, Fig. 2, the rack bar and the actuating rod being omitted, and Fig. 5, an isometric view of the rack bar.

Referring to Fig. l, A represents a boot or shoe, which may be of any suitable construction and which it is desired to stretch or eX- pand by means of the split last A', which latter may be of any usual or suitable construction, it being composed of two halves hinged at their rear sides as at a, and actuated by the rod a having the handle a2. The split last A', its actuating rod d and the handle a2 may be of any usual or suitable construction.

To prevent the split last A', when inserted into the boot or shoe, from slipping toward the heel in the act of expanding the last by turningv the actuating rod a', I have provided what I prefer to term the split last check, which consists essentially of a stationary and an adjustable member,'the stationary member being preferably made as a rack bar b of substantially oblong shape and preferably of substantially the construction herein shown, it consisting of a substantially iiat top 2 and depending sides 3-4 forming an elongated channel or groove 5 substantially semicircular at its upper portion to fitover and correspond to the circular shape of the actuating rod a', as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The top 2 is provided with teeth or serrations 6.

The rack bar b has l1o-operating with it the adjustable member preferably made as herein shown, and consisting of a casting c provided with a hole or orifice c of substantially the shape in cross section of the said rack bar and through which the latter is inserted, the said rack bar resting upon curved ledges or shoulders c2 upon which rest the depending sides 3-4 of the-rack bar as clearly shown in Fig. 3, the upper wall or edge 7 of the opening c constituting a pawl, which engages the teeth or serrations 6 of the rack bar.

The casting c is made of suiicient length ICO to form fingers 8--A9, which are separated by the slot or opening l0 communicating with the opening c', and which is of sufficient width to permit the casting c to be applied to and removed from the rod a', the said fingers being made ofsuflicientlength to extend down into the boot or shoe substantially to near the inner sole of the same, when the rack bar is fitted upon the actuating rod a as shown in Fig. i, and for the best results I prefer to corrugate or otherwise roughen the rear surfaces of the fingers 8, 9 to increase the holding effect on the boot or shoe.

For the best results, l prefer to bevel or incline the front end 100 of the rack bar b to form a substantially sharp edge, which dents into the last under the backward pressure of the same, and acts to secure the rack bar on the rod a.

In the operation of my improved split last check, the split last A in ils contracted form is inserted into the boot or shoe A and forced forward so as to fit the same snugly, as now commonly practiced, after which the adjustable member c and the rack bar b are tted over the actuating rod a', the said adjustable member being moved toward the front of the rack bar s o as to permit it to be readily inserted into the boot or shoe, and when the rack bar b rests upon the actuating rod a, the upper end of the member c is moved forward, so as to rock upon the curved ledges c2 and thereby clear or disengage the pawl '7 from the teeth G of the rack bar, to permit the member c to be moved back toward the heel of the shoe, until the fingers 8, 9 engage the heel counter or rear portion of the .boot or shoe, at which time the pawl 7 engagesa tooth G of the rack bar. The split last can now be expanded by rotating the actuating rod a without dangerof its slipping or moving backward, as the fingers 8 9 of the pawl are prevented from moving backward by the heel portion of the shoe, and these lingers being thus held stationary, prevent movement of the rack bar b and the last A. After the boot or slice has been stretched, the attachment or check may be readily removed from he boot or shoe Without necessarily removing the last, the actuating rod being turned so as to contract the last and relieve the back pressure upon the adjustable member, which may be rocked so as to disengage its tooth 7 from the rack bar and permit the said pawl to be moved forward a sufficient distance to enable it and the rack bar to be lifted away from the actuating rod a.

By reason of the attachment or check consisting of the stationary member Z) and the adjustable member c engaging the same, being entirely disconnected from the actuating rod and adapted to be fitted over the same,a single check or attachment may be employed with a number of split lasts, which maybe of various sizes, thereby avoiding the necessity of a separate attachment or check for each split last.

The rack bar b may and preferably will be provided with side flanges e e at its front and rear end, and the fingers 8, 9, may and preferably will be cast apart and after they have been fitted over the rack bar will be sprung together sufficiently to bring the shoulders c2 under the sides 3--l.

I claiml. An attachment for split lasts consisting of a rack bar provided with a longitudinal groove or channel on its under side, and a check piece fitted over and adjustable on the rack bar and adapted to be inserted into the boot or shoe to engage the heel portion thereof, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a split last provided with an actuating rod, of a rack bar carried by the said rod, and a check piece fitted over and adjustable on the rack bar and adapted to engage the rear portion of the boot or shoe, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

E D WIN VARREN IIASTINGS.

Witnesses:

JAS. H. CHURCHILL, J. MURPHY. 

